Dealer's Game: Love
by Sensula
Summary: Hermione returned in time to make sure Draco lives while taking down the rising Death Eaters. How can she focus on doing her job if she keeps remembering what it was like to kiss his smiling lips and hold him in her arms? Rated M to be safe for later chapters. Sequel to Dealer's Game.
1. Chapter 1

**AN; So, if you just found this story and haven't read _Dealer's Game_, please go the author page and read it. It will answer a lot of questions. If you've read that story, though, welcome to the sequel. I hope you enjoyed the last story and are ready to read the next installment. Enjoy.**

"_I'm Draco Malfoy," the arrogant voice came. _

_ Hermione looked up and froze. It was Draco. Alive and about to ask her for help. No. Not again._

She closed her book and put it in her satchel, keeping her attention on her actions. Anything but looking looking at him. It was a shock on someone who'd just seen their husband die in front of them, trying to protect them, and then see them alive and introducing themselves to you again. She put the bag on her shoulder and started to walk past him.

"Hey, I'm talking to you," he said, grabbing her arm.

She paused and felt her breath leave her lungs. He was so solid. And warm. She could still remember the warmth leaving his body. Hermione steeled herself. No. Stay strong. She had to push him away.

"Get off me," she growled.

Draco furrowed his brow. "What is your problem?" he asked.

"My problem," Hermione said, jerking her arm away. "Is that you think you can come up to me, introduce yourself in such an arrogant tone, and ask for my help."

He looked stunned for a moment. "How did-"

"I know you need my help? Look, it's no big secret that people are having trouble in Divination," she lied. "Just read the book and repeat what the teacher tells you. If you'll excuse me, I need to get to class."

She turned and walked away before he could open his mouth and say anything. She reached the library doors and almost ran Gene down. "Geez, Herms," he said. "In a hurry?" He looked at her and his smile faded. "Who is he?"

Hermione stiffened. "What?" she asked, resisting the urge to look and see if Draco had followed her.

"Who's the boy that made you cry?" Gene said. "Your eyes are turning red."

Hermione relaxed a bit and shook her head. "No body," she said. "I found a book that hadn't been dusted and some of the dust made me sneeze too much. Come on. We'll be late for class."

"Okay," Gene said, though it sounded like he didn't believe her.

They started down the hallway and Hermione ran through what was going to happen next. That night, if she'd agreed to it, she would have met Draco in the library at nine. Well, that wasn't happening, so the next thing was her brothers' surprise visit.

"Gene," she said as they walked up to a their classroom.

"Yeah?" he asked.

"I know you're going to surprise me for my birthday by getting Andrew, Barcus, Colin, and Darwin to come visit, but please don't," she said.

"How-" Gene said.

"Please," Hermione said. "I've been swamped with tutoring. I need some time to study next week's lessons."

"Hermione, you need to relax. Get your nose out of a book and have some fun," Gene said.

She gave him a smile. "I'm fine, Gene. I like reading and learning. Besides, I do good work with teaching others. If I don't learnt he subject matter and understand it, how are they suppose to do that?"

"But all four of them have already put their vacation day in," Gene said. "They're coming tomorrow, whether you like it or not."

Usually, she would have laughed, but there was no laughter in her. She grieved for the love that was dead but alive, and she grieved for the life she would never have again. Hermione sighed and said, "Fine. But tell them to meet us outside the castle gates and we'll go to Diagaon Alley for some ice cream and shopping."

"Can you get Dumbledore to agree to that?" Gene asked. "You'll need his permission."

"I'll ask after class," Hermione said.

The doors to the classroom opened and they filed in for History of Magic. Hermione had been bumped up a class. If she'd been in her time period, she wouldn't have had to take it the following year. She felt a pain in her chest and gasped, pressing a hand to her heart.

"You okay?" Gene asked.

"Yeah," Hermione said. "I think I ate something that gave me a bit of heartburn."

"You need to slow down when you're eating," Gene said.

"I'll do that," she said, opening her book.

"Good afternoon, class," the professor said, floating through the wall. As a ghost, it probably made more sense than using the door if they could travel the grounds faster. "Today, we're going to get a little wild."

"Maybe he'll change his monotone," Gene said, nudging Hermione with his elbow. She shrugged. The professor was only going to ask which event of magic they wanted to hear about. Wait, that was it.

"Today, I'm going to let you choose which historical event you'd like to learn about," the professor said. There were groans around the room, but Hermione raised her hand. "Yes, Ms. Granger?"

"Professor, could you tell us about the Wizard War? The one with Death Eaters?" she asked.

The words 'Death Eaters' got everyone's attention and, for maybe the first time, the entire class was attentive to what the professor had to say.

"The Wizard War was when He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was alive and very powerful. He gathered with him a group of witches and wizards who shared the same belief that muggles should be slaves to the purebloods. This meant muggle-borns and half bloods, as well. This group of like minded people were called Death Eaters. They tormented, killed, and terrorized the wizarding world for many years until the night the Dark Lord went after the Potters. That night, he was defeated by the infant Harry Potter, leaving only a scar upon the infant's head. No one is certain why this happened, only that the Dark Lord died that night. The Ministry was able to subdue and lock away many of the Death Eaters in Azkaban, but not much is known about the ones that were never caught."

Hermione raised her hand. "Was the witch Bellatrix Lestrange ever caught?" she asked.

"She was one, yes," the professor answered.

"Is it possible to break out of Azkaban?" Hermione asked. "I mean, we don't have to worry about having them escape, right?"

The professor gave a dry laugh. "No, Ms. Granger," he said. "Azkaban is a very well built fortress. It's guarded by Dementors and is in the middle of no where. You have no fear that they will escape."

But somehow Bellatrix, Antonin, and Yaxley had escaped or were going to escape soon. How did they get out Azkaban, then, without anyone noticing? Something like the three most vicious Death Eaters escaping an escape proof prison would have made Rita Skeeter drool and have her outlandish version of the story on every headline. She'd have to do some research on her own.

"Yes, Mr. Locksly?" the professor asked.

"Wasn't the Dark Lord a half blood?" he asked.

"Yes. He was."

"Then why did he hate half bloods and muggle-borns?"

"That answer is not one that I have, Mr. Locksly," the professor said. "But knowing one's heritage is always something one should do. In fact, I believe I will make that an assignment. Find something interesting about your family history and give a report, a minimum of three feet of parchment." There were a few groans in the class. "It will be due two Wednesdays from now, giving you two weeks to work on this. You are dismissed for the rest of the class for research."

Gene stood up and put his book in his bag. "Nice," he said. "You ask a simple question and get us stuck with homework."

"Sorry," she said, packing up her own things.

"So why the sudden interest in the Wizard War?" Gene asked.

Hermione shrugged. "One of the kids I tutor wants to do extra credit on it and insists that I help," she said.

"Couldn't turn them away, could you?" Gene said as they walked out of the classroom.

"Something like that," she said. They turned a corner and she ran into someone. Their bag spilled over the tiles. "Sorry," she said. "Let me help you."

"Not going to snap my head off?" the voice said.

Hermione looked up and met the gaze of Draco. He smirked at her and she felt her heart stop. She licked her lips and turned her attention to putting his things in his bag. She stood up and held it out. "No," she said.

Draco took the bag. "Got nothing to say?" he asked.

Hermione kept he back straight and her hands folded over her middle to keep from reaching for him. "No," she said. She forced her feet to move past him and down the hallway.

"Hermione?" Gene asked, catching up to her. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Gene," Hermione said. "He's...just been tormenting some of my students."

"Didn't know you cared," Gene said.

"Lessons haven't been to great when they complain about bullies," she said. "Now, where should we start? With Dad's parents or Mom's?"

"Either way, we can't do much from here. Mom and Dad are muggles. All their family history is back in the muggle world," Gene said.

Hermione shook her head. "There has to be some sort of magic there," she said. "There are eight of us that are born to muggles, but all of us have magic. Either we have magical blood that's submissive in our parents, or Mom had an affair with a wizard."

"Don't you think Dad would have flaunted a blood connection like that by now?" Gene asked. "I hate to speak ill of the man-"

"Go ahead," Hermione said bitterly. "Whatever you say of him is true."

Gene sighed. "Look, Herms," he said, stopping her outside the library. "I know you're angry about the arranged marriage to Vladimir-"

"I don't want to talk about it," she said. "Can we just do our assignment?" She walked to the back of the library to her usual table.

Gene came up behind her and hugged her. "Hermione," he said. "I know you don't want this marriage. If there was any other way to fix this, believe me that we'd do something."

Hermione stared at the table and started to cry. She wiped the tears away, but more just continued to fall. Gene turned her around and she clung to him, crying softly. She wanted to stop. She wanted to go back to the way it was just a while ago, when it was the happiest day of her life. Knowing she would never be that happy with anyone or even be friends with Draco, just sank the dagger even more into her heart. The scar started to ache and she pulled away.

"Thank you," she said, wiping her tears and turning to the table. "So...why don't we start with a general search for the Granger family tree. Any reference to a Granger will work."

Gene gave her a worried look, but turned and walked over to the card drawers. Hermione pulled out what they would need to take notes, trying to calm her nerves. She had to start being careful or people would notice her odd behavior. Gene believed it was from the engagement to Vladimir, but her old self had been able to keep her feelings hidden from everyone. Now...well, now she'd have to get use to the front again. Her hand traveled to her robes, feeling the photo tucked away in the pocket. At least she would have memories.


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: I know a lot of you didn't like me killing Draco off. Sorry. But that's where the story took me. Hope you enjoy this story.**

Hermione stared at herself in the mirror. She had dark circles under her eyes but nothing a bit of concealer wouldn't cure. She'd stayed up all night, remembering to put a concealment charm around her bed, and had planned out what she had to do. First step was to make sure no one noticed anything strange about her behavior.

She applied makeup to the dark circles, cast a concealment charm over her scar that had followed her back in time, and smiled at her reflection. She still looked out of sorts. Hermione picked up a Pep Up potion and combed her hair. Better. Now, she didn't look like she was going to break down at any moment.

Hermione took a deep breath and smiled at herself. She could do this. Just take it one day at a time. She only had Transfiguration with Draco, so avoiding him would be fairly simple. Things could not repeat. Once, she had thought her worst nightmare would to be in a loveless marriage. She'd rather have that than what had happened.

Which lead to today. After Gene had sent an owl home to learn more about their genealogy, their parents had thought it would be a good idea for Vladimir and her to get to know each other a bit better. It was like the date she'd had last time on her birthday, only a few weeks earlier. She was even wearing the same dress. The cream colored, strapless dress hugged her curves and made her look beautiful. Draco had liked it, but Hermione still didn't care for it. She preferred colors and this color looked nice on her, but she'd have cared for something else. Too late to change, though. Vladimir was punctual and had said seven o'clock sharp.

Hermione picked up her best dress cloak, a pearl color, and slid it over her shoulders as she walked down to the main hall. She passed a few people, who stopped and stared as she walked by. Did she really look that good? When she'd returned from her date with Vladimir the first time, it had been too late for anyone to be out. Even during their dinner, no one had looked at them. Maybe it was because she'd left her hair free? She'd combed out most of the bushiness, but pinning her hair in a few places had helped.

She stepped down from the staircase and saw Vladimir waiting for her, dressed in his school dress uniform. He turned to her and looked her over. "Ready?" he asked, sounding a big harsh.

Hermione stopped in front of him and raised an eyebrow. "Really?" she asked in a low voice. "You're going to boss me around? I'm not the kind of girl who takes orders easily."

Vladimir's upper lip twitched before falling back into a straight line. He offered his arm. "Shall ve go?" he asked, sounding a bit nicer.

Hermione took his arm and forced a polite smile. "Of course," she said. Vladimir turned her toward the door and she saw Draco coming up from the dungeons. She stared for a moment, watching him laugh with Pansy and Blaise. A wave of longing hit her and she almost lost her breath.

"Is something vrong?" Vladimir asked, looking at her.

Hermione met his gaze. He didn't deserve her unhappy feelings toward an arranged marriage. He probably didn't think too highly of it, either. Vladimir wasn't Draco, but, in this life, she was engaged to him. It was best to get to know him a little bit better. She gave him a more genuine smile and said, "No. Nothing's wrong. So, where would you like to go tonight?"

Vladimir lead her out onto the school grounds. "My parents suggested I-"

"But I asked where you would like to go," she said.

Vladimir stopped, slightly confused. "But our parents..." he said.

Hermione gave a slight nod. "I know," she said. "Our parents want us to marry. I can...understand that. But that doesn't mean we have to follow everything they tell us. I mean, your parents probably told you to take me some place really expensive and upscale, right?"

Vladimir straightened his chin. "They said I should take you to an expensive place," he admitted.

Hermione turned to him, hand still in the crook of his arm. "Tell you what; why don't we just go down to Hogsmead and have some dinner at the Three Broomsticks?" she asked. Vladimir paused. "Unless you'd like to go someplace expensive?"

He was silent for a moment before saying, "Ve'll go vhere you vant this time. Next time, I choose."

Hermione smiled, glad he didn't yell and that he didn't fuss about the change in plans. She took his arm and they started down the road. "So, how's school?" she asked, trying to go for small talk.

Vladimir kept his gaze forward. "Studying is not my thing," he said. "I prefer the dueling club."

"You have a dueling club at your school?" Hermione asked, perking up slightly.

"Da. I am captain," Vladimir said, sounding very proud of himself. He even stuck out his chest.

Hermione smiled at his tone. He sounded like her when she talked about her tutoring. And for him to be captain, he had to be passionate about his dueling. Vladimir was also a lot less intimidating as she remembered. Was it because she'd grown up so much or had she changed something by coming back? Suddenly, Hermione was struck with an idea. "Vladimir," she said. "Sometime when you don't have anything going on, could you teach me to duel? I've always wanted to learn, but I don't have time to practice too much."

Vladimir gave a small smile and he relaxed from his stiff posture. "It vould be a pleasure," he said. "But doesn't your school have a dueling club?"

Hermione shook her head. "No, sadly," she said. "This school focuses more on Quidditch. There are dueling practices in Defense Against the Dark Arts, but it never took off."

"That is a shame," Vladimir said. "It is a good skill to have. Not to mention the thrill of defeating your opponent with a fluid motion of your want." His eyes seemed to look off and see something else. Hermione watched him, letting him have the moment. His features seemed to relax and become less like stone. It looked like he was going through some of his victories. She got the same way when thinking about how she helped students' grades rise. It had been a while, technically, and those feelings were a pleasant distraction from 'mourning' Draco.

Hermione blinked and looked around. "Oh," she said. "We're here."

Vladimir shook his head, clearing his expression, and opened the door to the Three Broomsticks. A few teachers were occupying tables and seats at the bar. Most of them ignored the two students, but a few watched as Hermione and Vladimir took a table in the corner. They stood out in their elegant clothes.

Hermione pulled off her cloak and mittens. Vladimir took the seat closest to the wall, making sure he faced the room. He didn't remove his cape, but did slide his gloves off. He looked so tense that the waitress was scared to come to their table.

Hermione smiled sweetly at her and said, "Two butterbeers, please, to start." The waitress, who was young and obviously new, nodded, put the menus down, and scurried away as fast as she could. "You know," Hermione said, leaning close toward Vladimir. "People might like you a bit better if you didn't look as if you will kill them is they so much as coughed."

Vladimir blinked and raised a questioning eyebrow. "I vould not kill anyvone," he said.

"But you look it," Hermione said. "Relax. This is only dinner to make our parents happy and to get to know each other. No one's going to try and attack you."

He would have blushed if Hermione thought that had been trained out of him. The waitress returned with their drinks, still shaking slightly. She set them on the table and reached for her pad. Hermione looked at Vladimir and jerked her head slightly toward the young witch. Vladimir raised an eyebrow and cleared his throat. The witch jumped. "Vould you bring us two plates of today's specials," he said.

"Please," Hermione added for him. The witch nodded and quickly scurried off, looking only slightly less shaky.

Vladimir look at Hermione. "You are different than the last time we met," he said.

Hermione thought of the last time they'd met in this timeline. "Oh?" she said, hoping it was a safe answer.

"The last time ve vere in the same room, I vas sure you vould run out at any moment," he said.

Hermione looked down at her drink. "Vladimir, I think I should be honest with you," she said. "You intimidated me and I thought you were going to hurt me if I didn't do what you wanted. I think it's because I was always the little obedient girl and didn't want to cause any problems. I thought you were a brainless brute and...I resented you. An arranged marriage is not what I want, but I can't change it."

There was silence between them, in which time the waitress returned with their food. She didn't shake this time, but she didn't wait around for them, either. When she was gone, Vladimir finally spoke.  
"I did not know you thought of me like that," he said. Hermione looked up at him and watched him lean on the table, relaxing his stiff shoulders. He linked his fingers together in front of him. "I understand vhat you mean about the marriage," he said. "I did not vant this, either. To be honest, I vanted nothing to do vith this marriage and had only come here because my parents asked my headmaster. That got around school fast."

Hermione's lips twitched slightly and she chuckled. "Maybe you should have asked your headmaster to help you get out of this," she said. Vladimir looked confused for a moment. "He's not too keen on our engagement. He'd rather set you up with his daughter."

Vladimir looked quizzical. "How do you know this?" he asked.

She rested her chin in her hand. "Well, having to be the quiet and dutiful daughter at many of my father's functions, I am quickly forgotten. Gives me the chance to overhear many things," she said. Vladimir shifted slightly. Hermione titled her head for a moment. "Would you rather be marrying the Headmaster's daughter? You're sweet on her, aren't you?"

Vladimir used his fork to move the food around on his plate. "There isn't anything I can do to change vhat is in place," he said.

Hermione reached out and touched the back of his hand. He looked up. "Vladimir," she said. "There is a way to change this. It's happened before."

"Vhat is that?" he asked. He sounded curious and...a big hopeful?

"You could have someone buy your contract from my father. In a sense, they are buying my place in the contract. Instead of marrying me, you're marrying them," Hermione said. "For example, if the Headmaster's daughter were to put forward enough money, it'll be her walking dow the aisle to be wedded to you."

Vladimir straightened and smiled. Actually smiled; it looked good on him. "I vould not object to that," he said.

"Oh-ho," Hermione said with a knowing smile. "You must be very sweet on her. What's her name?"

The simple question started Vladimire chatting about his darling Alyona. Hermione smiled through the meal as Vladimir gushed about the Headmaster's daughter. She'd never seen him this passionate and loose before. Even when they'd paid for their meal and left to go back to the castle, Vladimir spoke of Alyona. It wasn't until they were half way to the castle that Hermione got a word in.

"Sounds like you really love her," she said, sounding slightly wistful. How many times had her brothers teased her about how she sounded when talking about Draco?

"I do," Vladimir said. He looked at her. "You love somevone else, as vell," he added.

Hermione felt her scar hurt again and reached up to run it. Her fingers touched the gold chain around her neck and pressed against the gold and ruby heart she'd tucked into her neckline. "It's complicated," she said.

"How?" Vladimir asked, stopping in front of the castle.

Hermione gave him a soft smile. "The one I love can never love me. If he does...Let's just say that I don't want to go down that road."

"Again," Vladimir said.

"Excuse me?" Hermione asked, feeling a bit of panic touch her.

"How you said that sentence made me think you vanted to add the vord 'again' to the end," he said.

Hermione let out her breath is a slight laugh. "There are some things that are best Left in the past. I'm trying to move on," she said. Looking up and smiling at him, she reached out and touched his arm. "But you should go home and talk to Alyona. See if she'll agree to what we talked about. There will never be the love between us, that you two have. Be happy with her."

Vladimir touched her cheek gently. It was a gentle and comforting touch, offering friendship. "You hope you vill have your love without the sadness, Hermione," he said, surprising her with the correct pronunciation of her name. He gave a slight smile.

She returned it and nodded. "Thank you, Vladimir," she said. Hermione straightened her shoulders and said, "Well, I better get inside before a prefect writes me up for being out so late. See you again some time?"

"I am sure you vill be hearing from me very soon," Vladimir said. "I have a feeling this vill anger our parents."

Hermione laughed. "Won't it just," she said. "Good night and good luck, Vladimir."

"Good night, Hermione," he said and grabbed something in his pocket that must have been a portkey, for he vanished a second later.

Hermione laughed as she thought about how her father was going to react. Another blow out, but now that it wasn't directed toward her.

She turned and headed back into the castle. She gathered the front of her dress as she walked up the stairs. Hermione took some of the clips out of her hair and pulled off her cloak as she walked. The next thing she did was take the concealment charm off her scar. No one should be up this early to see. Besides, se threw her cloak over her shoulder so she could pull off her gloves. Tonight hadn't been that bad, if she'd had to admit it. Last time, they'd sat in a fancy restaurant and hadn't talked at all. The place had been too uptight. Hermione had also mistaken Vladimir's silence as judging, which hadn't helped.

"Coming in a bit late, aren't you, Granger?"

Hermione froze at the voice. No. Not tonight.

She turned and said, "What of it, Malfoy?"

He stepped out of the shadows and smirked. "Touchy, aren't you?" he asked. "Did your date go badly? He looks like a dumb jock who couldn't find his way out of a wet bag."

Hermione stiffened. "Shut up," she said. "Vladimir is a perfectly wonderful wizard."

"Sweet on him, are you?" Draco asked. "He give you that necklace you're wearing?"

Hermione touched the necklace and said, "Why does it matter?"

"Because it effects you and I'm curious," he said. "Show it to me."

"No," Hermione said. She turned and started to walk away. Get away from him, Hermione, before you do something that could jeopardize your reason for coming back.

"Now, wait a minute, Granger," Draco said, reaching out. He grabbed her cloak and pulled. The fabric slid from her shoulder and she reached around to grab it.

"Draco!" she yelled. "I swear, you are so childish sometimes. I thought it was cute before, but right now you are getting me angry-" She paused when she saw that Draco was staring at her chest. Looking down, she saw that her scar was in full view. She reached up and covered it with her hand, yanking the cloak from his loosened grip. Hermione put it back over her shoulder.

"What..." Draco started to say.

"Leave it, Malfoy," she said, turning away.

Draco grabbed her elbow and pulled her back. He trapped her against the wall and his body. Hermione's body burned at the contact and she bit back a gasp. He was still as hard as she remembered when they'd been this close together before. Her hands automatically went to his shoulders.

He was close enough that his breath warmed her cheeks. "What happened?" he asked.

Hermione licked her lips, her mind clouded by their closeness. "Draco," she said, breathing the name. She looked up into his eyes and was mesmerized by the silver color.

"So," he said in a low voice. "You do know what my name is. And you say it so seductively."

Hermione took a deep breath, drinking in his scent. He was so real. If only it were a dream so she could go further. But she couldn't in real life. No. Not now. She pushed on his shoulders and he stumbled back. She pulled her cloak around her shoulders and took a deep breath. "I know your name. It is Malfoy and, if I'm not mistaken, won't your dear daddy be so disappointed if he learns that his son has willingly held and touched a filthy mudblood?"

Draco blinked, surprised at hearing those words leave her mouth. Hermione felt pain in her scar again, but ignored it. Instead, she raised her chin and said, "Stay away from me, Malfoy, or my fiancee with have no trouble chewing you up and spitting you out like a dragon with a cow." She turned and continued up the stairs. Draco didn't follow her and she was glad because her tears were flowing freely.

Hermione got to her room and got ready for bed while silently crying. When she curled up in bed, she pulled out the photo of her and Draco from under her pillow. She watched the two laugh and joke around. She closed her eyes and slept with the tear marks still fresh on her cheeks.

**AN: Alright, I guess a few of you are thinking that Vladimir gave up a bit too quickly, since, in the last book, he just walked away after Hermione's disownment with such a cold . My way of looking at that is that he was just giving an excuse to shut Mr. Granger up. Inside, he was jumping for joy and doing the moonwalk. Or would it be called the broomwalk? And now Draco's seen the scar. Note, he's only seen part of it, even though it's a strapless dress. He can't see the whole thing. Just putting that out there. **


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: I've been busy with so much stuff and I'm glad to finally be posting a chapter. Also, puffballs365, do not release the hounds, though your threats are really creative. Maybe you and SylviaKerne could get together and come up with some more. Lol. So, as I dodge the hounds of hell, I present the next chapter. Enjoy. **

***Dogs barking**

**Gotta run. Bob! Get the steaks!**

Hermione was sitting at breakfast with her brothers when Professor Flitwick approached them. "Dumbledore said there were a few people that would like to see all Grangers in the Room of Requirements. Said it had something to do with a contract of some sort."

The triplets looked confused, but Hermione simply grabbed her books and stood. She turned and followed Flitwick out of the Great Hall, flanked by her brothers. Out of the corner of her eye, Hermione noticed Draco watching them leave. She kept her back straight, her chin high, and focused only on following Flitwick.

"What do you think this is about?" Greg asked.

Fargo said, "Did we break something?"

Hermione looked over her shoulder at her brother. "_Did_ you break something?" she asked

Fargo paused for a moment, then shook his head. "No," he said, sounding just a little bit guilty. His eyes darted to the wall on his left. Total lie.

Hermione chuckled and stopped as Flitwick opened the door to the Room of Requirements. "In you go," the teacher said with a bright smile. Hermione nodded toward him before walking into the room. Blow up time.

The moment she stepped into the room, it was clear that the blow up was just getting started. Vladimir's mother and himself were sitting on a grey couch with a girl Hermione had never seen, watching the loud and angry argument between Vladimir's father and her own. It was strange seeing her father, especially since the last time she'd seen him, she'd claimed disownment. He hadn't changed, not that she should really have expected that.

Mr. Granger stopped his yelling when he noticed his children had arrived. "Hermione," he growled. "That boy," he pointed at Vladimir, "says that that female," he pointed to the unknown girl, "has bought your half of the marriage contract. How the hell would know that?"

"It's common knowledge when researching loopholes in marriage contracts," Hermione said, keeping her voice calm and neutral. She didn't care for her father, but she'd just suck it up and deal with it. She stepped up to him and smiled politely to Vladimir's father. "This young woman has every right to buy my portion of the contract if she wishes to marry Vladimir."

"This ruins everything," Mr. Granger fumed.

Hermione resisted the urge to roll her eyes, but kept the smile in place. Gently, she placed a hand on her father's arm and said, "I understand you are upset. But I believe that I should talk to Vladimir and this young woman privately. We can reach an agreement, I'm sure." He looked ready to put up a fuss. "This is my contract and my life, Father," she said, cringing on the inside at the word. "Let me work this out."

The anger deflated from Mr. Granger almost like a ballon having the air let out. He took a deep breath and said, "Fix this."

Hermione nodded and looked at the wall of the room. She thought of the room she wanted and a door appeared. Turning to Vladimir and the girl, she smiled. "Shall we discuss this?" she asked, waving her arm elegantly toward the room.

Vladimir took the unknown girl's hand and led her toward the door. Hermione followed behind and gave a slight nod to the other occupants of the room. She closed the door and turned around. The room had a couch and a wing backed chair, a table set between the two, holding a tea set and a few sweets. A fire warmed the room, giving the place a relaxed feel to it.

"Take a seat," Hermione said, flopping down into the chair. She took a cup of tea and sipped it. Minty. Hermione looked up and saw Vladimir and the girl staring a little wearily. "You don't have to worry about them hearing us," she said. "I asked for a sound proof room."

Vladimir smiled slightly and sat down on the couch. The girl looked uncomfortable, but sat down. She had long blonde hair pulled into an intricate braid that complimented her oval face, making her look very youthful. But also nervous. Her long fingers played with the fabric of her blue robes.

"You can relax, Alyona," Hermione said. "This is all just a show for our parents. I am not going to try to get my part of the contract back. Vladimir is all yours and I only ask that you send me an invitation to the wedding. No, we're just going to hang out for a while, then go out there and say that you're going to marry this big Bulgarian. Mr. Granger will probably rant for a while, but then will calm down."

"Von't you get in trouble?" Alyona asked.

"Maybe," Hermione said. "But I've dealt with him on things like this. I just have to give him a bigger bone to chew."

"Vhat bone vould distract him from a marriage contract?" Vladimir asked.

Hermione took a sip of her tea and crossed her legs, smiling. "I'll take one of the internships I've been offered by the Ministry of Magic. The one in the Archives sounds interesting. Maybe I'll take Mad Eye Moody up on his offer to be trained as an Auror."

"You have an interest in the field?" Alyona asked, taking a tea cup from the table.

"No," Hermione said. "I'm just doing some research." Like finding out how Bellatrix could get out of Azkaban and organize a revival of Death Eaters without the Aurors noticing.

"Does this have anything to do vith the person you vere in love vith?" Vladimir asked.

Hermione choked on her tea and coughed. "What?" she asked, coughing a bit more. "Where'd you get that impression?"

Vladimir raised an eyebrow. "I'm not as stupid as people think," he said. "Are you taking this job because you vant to move on?"

Hermione paused and looked at her tea. "You could say that," she said.

Vladimir leaned forward and said, "You vant to talk about it? Maybe ve can help."

Hermione chuckled humorlessly. "The story is too long, too confusing, and you probably won't believe me anyway," she said.

"Try us," Alyona said. "Ve owe you. Maybe ve can help somehow."

Hermione stared at the two for a moment, contemplating their offer. She could use some help on this. More hands could cover more ground and expand their chances of finding Bellatrix and stopping her. If they went for the story.

She leaned forward and set her tea down on the table. Hermione looked at the two of them and said, "If I tell you this, you must take a vow to never tell anyone else."

Vladimir and Alyona exchanged glances before turning back to her and nodding. "Ve promise," Vladimir said.

Hermione reached out her hand and said, "Take my hand, please. Both of you." The two put their hands on her and she placed her wand on top. "Vow that you will not repeat what is said in this room to anyone that we have not all agreed to inform."

"Ve vow," Vladimir said. Alyona repeated his words.

Hermione tapped their hands with her wand and leaned back in her chair. "Well," she said, picking up her refreshed cup of tea. "To begin with, this idea of you buying my part of the contract was proposed to me by my husband, Draco Malfoy."

Vladimir blinked. "Vhat?" he asked. "You're married?"

"I was," Hermione said, her hand reaching to run over the necklace and rings around her neck. "But that was another life."

"Did he die?" Alyona asked.

"No," Hermione said. "He's not dead. Well, not now. He was." She looked up and laughed at their confused expressions. "Let me start at the beginning. When Vladimir and I were engaged the first time."

The story took a while and the two Bulgarians didn't say a word throughout the entire retelling. Hermione explained how she'd come back and then fell silent.

"So," Alyona said. "You can back to find this Bellatrix and stop her from escaping Azkaban."

"Right," Hermione said.

"Vhy not just go to the authorities and tell them the story?" Vladimir asked.

"I thought of that," Hermione said. "But then it dawned on me that I'm breaking the law right now by being here. Time travel is illegal, even for good intentions. So, I tell them my story and they might act on it, but I know for a fact that I'd be locked up in Azkaban with that crazy witch. Not to mention, Bellatrix might have authority figures on her payroll. I have to stop this myself." She leaned forward, becoming serious. "If your offer was genuine, I'd like your help to make sure this doesn't happen again."

Vladimir and Alyona had joined hands during her story and he rubbed his thumb over her skin as they thought. Alyona looked up and met Hermione's gaze. "I am vith you," she said. "I owe you for bringing Vladimir to me. I vill help you so your husband vill not die again."

"Thank you," Hermione said. "But Draco can never know of this. He was a target because of all of this and I'm not going to let him get killed again."

Vladimir bit the side of his thumb in thought and then looked up. "I vill help, as vell," he said.

"You can count on my help."

Hermione sighed a breath of relief and smiled. "Thank you," she said. "You know, I'm glad you want to help, but I need you to know that you may die on this. Bellatrix has already succeeded in killing Draco and I can't risk going back in time again to stop you. Too much meddling with time using my spell, will probably cause too many problems. Are you sure you want to continue with this?"

"_Da_," Alyona and Vladimir said at the same time.

Hermione blinked. These two were almost complete strangers but they wanted to help her. She couldn't imagine why. "Alright," she said, standing up. "Now that we've got this all settled, we better go face the music of the parents." The other two stood and walked to the door. "Just so you know," Hermione said. "There will most likely be a point where we will cross a line. You are free to leave at that point, but once we cross, there is no turning back."

Vladimir smiled. "Hermione, ve said ve vere vith you. You're not the only one vho vants this vitch to pay."

She raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?" she asked.

Vladimir chuckled and said, "Ve'll have to save that for another day. Right now, let's pacify our parents, alright?" He pulled the door open.

Hermione gave a slight nod and walked out. Her father and Vladimir's father were on opposite sides of the room, not talking to one another. The triplets were chatting with Vladimir's mother and Mrs. Granger, who must have show up after the other three had left the room.

"We have come to an agreement," Hermione announced. "Vladimir and Alyona will marry and I will take the internship with the Aurors. This is what we have decided and you will honor this arrangement. Thank you and I hope you have a safe trip home."

No one spoke as she hugged Alyona and Vladimir. "I'll owl you," she said.

"I can't vait," Alyona said, smiling.

"Have fun vith your studying," Vladimir said. "I'll come by to teach you dueling some time."

"I'd like that," Hermione said. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a class to get to. My brothers need to get to class, as well." She said the last loud enough for the triplets to hear.

They jumped to their feet and headed toward the door. They'd probably had enough of the tension in the room. Hermione adjusted her bag on her shoulder and walked out of the room, avoiding looking her father in the eye.

The Granger children walked down the hallway until Gene stopped and turned to face her. "So, that was it? You're no longer engaged?"

Hermione smiled. "Yeah," she said. "I am my own woman."

Fargo gave a whoop of joy and lifted her into a huge bear hug. Hermione laughed and returned the hug. "You know," he said once he set her on her feet. "I have a few friends who might-"

"No," Hermione said. "No way. I'm going to stay away from relationships for a while. Focus on school and the Auror internship; that's my plan."

"Well, then," Gene said. "We better get you to class so you can be all smart witch."

Hermione smiled and continued walking. She felt lighter and confident. She hadn't felt like this for a while. She smiled at her brothers and thought she saw a flash of blonde from the corner of her eye.

**AN: Okay, I've thrown the dogs for the moment. Hope you enjoyed the chapter. I love having feedback. Bob, you see the dogs anywhere?**

**Bob: Nope. You're clear for now.**

**Me: Good. So, i'd like to thank an anonymous reviewer who gave me the idea of having Vladimir help Hermione after she told him what was going on. It may seem fast pace, but it'll work in the long run.**

**Bob: Dogs! 4 o'clock.**

**Me: thanks for reading. Bob, let's run.**

**Bob: They won't harm me. I have meat. They love me. You're on your own.**

**Me: You are so dead when I get my hands on you! *runs from dogs**


	4. Chapter 4

_Ms. Granger,_

_ We are delighted to hear that you will be accepting the internship for the Auror Department. Arrangements will be made with Headmaster Dumbledore for you to leave Hogwarts to begin your orientation next week. We will arrange your internship to coincide with your school schedule. If you have any questions, please contact our department._

_Sincerely,_

_Logan Windleback_

_Head of the Internship Department_

Hermione smiled at the letter and put it on the table of the Tutor Room. So far, her plan was going well. Being an intern in the Ministry could allow her to keep an ear out for important news. Being an intern for the Auror's department, though, would give her access to files and reports on anything she needed.

"Hermione," someone called. "You in here?"

Hermione turned around in her chair and smiled. "Hey, Harry. What can I do you for? Need help with a class?"

"Actually, I'm here to just chat," Harry said. "We don't talk much anymore."

They hadn't talked much in her last life, though they'd been friends. Maybe she should change that. "Sure, Harry," she said. "Tea?"

"Sure," Harry said, taking a seat as Hermione walked into the little kitchenette for the tea pot and two cups. She brought it over to the table and poured him a cup. "What's on your mind?" she asked.

Harry blinked. "How-"

"Harry," she said. "We haven't been exactly the best of chatting buddies. You want to talk about something?"

He took the cup of tea, keeping his eyes on her. After taking a sip, he leaned on the top of the table between them. "The school's been busy with the news that you've broken your marriage contract and that you've been accepted into the Auror internship program. Is it true?" he asked.

Hermione laughed. "Doesn't surprise me," she said. "News never stays secret in this school. Not anything that big, at least." She took a sip of her own tea. "But it's true. I am no longer engaged to Vladimir and I just got me letter thanking me for accepting the Auror Department's offer."

Harry nodded and sipped his tea. "Wow," he said. "That's really something."

Hermione sipped her tea and set it on the parchment and book covered table. "Harry, did you want me to get you into the internship program? Is that why you're here?" she asked bluntly.

He blinked and said, "No. Merlin, Hermione, is that what you think? I'd talk to you just to get something?"

Hermione chuckled at his offended tone. Not because it was false or forced, but because Harry really was offended that she'd said that. She laughed at the honesty she heard. "Forgive me," she said. "But when you're use to people wanting something from you, it's what you jump to first."

"Sounds like you've had a lot of experience with that," Harry said.

A snort escaped Hermione before she could stop it. "Sorry," she said. "But, yeah. I've had experience with people using me to get what they want. Comes with being a Granger and having a father who's obsessed with climbing the social ladder of a community that he's not even a part of. That bastard doesn't understand that he has no standing. There is no magic in him. He shouldn't even be in the community like he is. He's been mooching off his children's accomplishments for some time, playing their success for his own gain." Hermione ran a hand through her hair in aggravation before angrily sipping her tea.

"Don't hold back," Harry said. "Tell me how you really feel."

She looked at him and smiled at his smirk. "Sorry," she said, laughing slightly. "I don't mean to rant."

"Sometimes you just have to let it out," Harry said. "You're not alone in that."

Hermione looked at the wall, running her finger around the rim of her cup. "Alone," she said slowly. Her lips turned up in a mirthless smile. "You know," she said, "that word is beginning to become one of my least favorite words."

There was silence between the two. "You've changed," Harry said.

"I've heard that," Hermione said. "Mostly from my brothers."

"They're right," Harry said.

She laughed, getting up and walking over to the bed. It was more comfortable than the chair. "Oh, if they heard you say that, there'd be no living with them," she said.

Harry stood and walked over to the bed. "Before, you were slightly meek and kept to yourself unless helping a student with classes. Now...I don't know. It's like you've aged."

"Wow," Hermione said with a laugh. "Calling a woman old. That's smooth."

"No," Harry said quickly. "That's not what I meant, I mean...um-"

Hermione cut him off with her laughter. "I'm joking," she said. "Didn't you develop a sense of humor with Ginny?"

Harry sighed slightly. "Ginny and I...have been having some problems. We're not doing so hot."

Hermione raised an eyebrow. How did she not know of this? In her last life, she'd known a great deal of gossip that floated around the school's halls from her students and from others who forgot she was there. How had she not known something was off with her friends?

"Want to talk about it?" she asked, patting the spot next to her on the bed.

Harry sank down next to her. "I guess tonight is rant night," he said.

"Rant away," Hermione said, raising her hands encouragingly.

"This is just between you and me, right?" Hermione nodded. He licked his lips and said, "Ginny and I have been...well, experimenting with a few things...you know?" He gave Hermione a look that conveyed what he was trying to say. She nodded. It wasn't like she thought her two friends hadn't done it; not with how long they'd been dating.

"So what's the problem?" Hermione asked. "Did she suggest something that made you queazy? Or did you suggest something?"

"No," Harry said. "It's not that...it..." He ran a hand over his face and said, "This is embarrassing. I can't really go to Ron with this, you know, so I thought of you and-"

"Harry," Hermione said.

He sighed and leaned closer, lowering his voice as if someone might hear. "We used magical handcuffs the last time we...you know...but we've...well, we've been using them a lot. And Ginny's been getting more bondage things from magazines. Now, I'm not complaining too much because,well, the sex is good-"

"But you'd like a rest?" Hermione asked, smiling.

Harry nodded. "I'm tired every day and falling asleep in class. My Quidditch game is off, too," he said.

"Have you talked to Ginny about that?" Hermione asked.

"No," Harry said. "But I have a favor to ask. I need you to keep these hidden and, under no circumstance, give them to Ginny." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a pair of pink fuzzy handcuffs with a pair of keys hanging from the chains by a purple ribbon. He put them in Hermione's hands.

She lifted them up and examined the item. The inside feathers were worn from use and the chains had a few places that were scraped and marred with scratches. They'd definitely been used for a while.

Hermione looked at Harry and raised an eyebrow. "You got the version that increases the urge in people to get more in touch with your sexual wild side?" she asked.

Harry blinked. "We did what?" he asked.

"Did you just grab the first pair you saw or did you order these from a magazine?" Hermione asked, standing up and kneeling in front of the bedside table. She opened the bottom portion of the furniture and set the cuffs inside.

"How do you know all this?" Harry asked as Hermione stood up.

She pushed a tendril of hair behind her ear and smiled. "There is more to me than you know, Harry," she said.

"Really?" Harry said, raising an eyebrow. "Like what?"

She shook her head, taking their cups to the sink. "You should focus on your own worries, Harry," she said.

He stood up and walked over to lean against the counter as Hermione rinsed the cups. "Now I'm curious," he said. "You have to tell me." Hermione snorted at the demand. "Alright," he said. "I can respect that you don't want questions asked just yet."

"Correct," Hermione said, drying the cups with a cloth. "And shouldn't you be meeting up with Ginny sometime soon for your study date?"

"Can I get one answer, at least? How do you know about the cuffs?" Harry asked. Hermione looked at him with a patient expression. He took this as a sign to continue because he said, "Just that one answer and I'm gone. It's going to bug me."

She shook her head slightly and said, "My brothers, Colin and Darwin, did a few sex shops when they first started. Sex sells, right? Well, the handcuffs were one of their products and I helped them do research on what people enjoyed. Now that you have you answer, shoo. Ginny'll be angry if you're late and a student might walk in soon."

Harry laughed and said, "Alright. I'm going. Hey, tomorrow's a Hogsmead trip. You want to come with Ron, Ginny, and me?"

"Can't," Hermione said, pulling parchment together in a pile. "My brothers are going to surprise me tomorrow with a visit and take me into the village for an early birthday visit."

"If it's suppose to be a surprise, then how do you know about it?" Harry asked, heading toward the door.

"Because my triplet brothers have big mouths," she answered, flashing him a smile.

Harry laughed. "Yeah," he said. "Well, good night, Hermione."

"Night, Harry," she said, watching him walk out of the room.

For a moment, the room felt empty and cold. When Harry had been here, Hermione hadn't felt lonely. She didn't feel lonely when she was around people. They kept her from thinking about other things. But when they left, she felt a black cavity resume in her chest, drawing her into the darkness. Many would characterize it as depression or grief. She called it a side effect of traveling back in time. She'd get over it. Maybe.

Hermione turned her attention to the clock on the wall. Everyone was in bed by now. Anyone not in their dorms would be breaking curfew. No students, then. Which meant she could get some sleep for tomorrow. Since she couldn't get a meeting with Dumbledore to get permission to go to Diagon Alley, she was stuck going to the village outside of school. Which meant she was going to run into Draco, Blaise, and Pansy.

To a degree, she could help them with their lives, and it raised the chances that this could backfire, but she wanted to see Blaise and Pansy happy. Not to mention Andrew. If she couldn't have her love, maybe she could still get Andrew's his. So, yes, a few things would be repeated, but talking to Draco would be out.

Hermione turned to put a few books back on the shelf when she heard the door open. "I'm sorry," she called, turning slightly. "But I'm not tutoring students this late-" Her voice cut out as she realized who had walked through her door.

"I know you're not tutoring this late. It's why I came," the visitor said.

His smirk made her heart leap into her throat. "What do you want?" she asked, picking up another pile of books and shelving them.

"Oh, I do believe there was less ice on that than the one in the hallway," Draco said.

Hermione pushed the books onto the shelf and licked her lips. "I believe there is a reason behind this visit?" she asked. "Or did you wait outside my door to annoy me. And how did you get in here? Only my students know how to get into this room." She turned around and found Draco standing behind her with a book in his hand. She grabbed it and pulled to put it on the shelf, but he didn't let go.

"Where," he said, leaning close enough for his breath to warm her cheek, "did you get that scar?"

Hermione's mind went fuzzy for a moment at the closeness before she shook herself and stepped away. "It's just a childhood scar," she said. "An accident."

"What kind of accident does a princess like you get into that causes a scar resembling a knife wound in the heart?" Draco asked.

Hermione stiffened and felt the scar flare up in pain again. Her fingers pushed on it, relieving the pain for a moment, but she continued to the kitchenette and grabbed a butterbeer from the small fridge. She popped the cap off and took a swig. "Why are you here?" she asked, not turning around.

"I thought I answered that," Draco said. "I want to know about the scar."

"If you want to know about a scar on a mudblood, then you need to do something productive. Maybe get laid," Hermione said, using the hateful words to push him away.

When there was a prolonged silence, Hermione turned around and found Draco standing behind her. He took the butterbeer from her hand and took a long swallow, licking his lips free of the drink left there. Hermione watched his tongue, remembering what it felt like on her skin and in her mouth. The thought made her face turn red and her breath hitch.

Draco set the drink down and smirked at her. And not the sexy smirk, but the mischief smirk. He reached out, lifted her up, and tossed her onto the bed. She bounced on the mattress, her hair flying into her face. Hermione reached out to wipe the hair out of her face, but Draco grabbed her wrists and secured them above her head. She heard something click and when she tried to move her arms, something restricted her movement.

She looked up and saw her hands secured to the bed frame by the handcuffs she'd put in the side table. Her eyes widened and she looked at Draco, who loomed above her.

"Let me go," she said.

"No," he said. "You know, you don't strike me as the kind of girl to have a pair of handcuffs lying around."

"Get these off me," Hermione said, her voice shaking slightly.

He chuckled. "Not until you answer me," he said.

Hermione struggled against the cuffs. If she stayed in these for too long, she didn't know what she would say or do. These cuffs made one become more sexual with their partner. Draco plus magical handcuffs on a different time line wife did not equal anything good.

"God dammit, Draco," she snapped. "Get me out of these handcuffs."

He leaned down until their breath mingled. "I like how my name sounds sexy on your lips," he said. "Why don't you say it more often?"

"Because we aren't friends," Hermione said, trying to keep her voice from shaking or her breath from becoming any more erratic. "If I remember correctly, your father isn't the most welcoming of my family and would freak if he even thought that we were anything beyond fellow students."

"You seem to know a lot about my family," Draco said in a low voice. "Why is that?"

Hermione felt his hands travel up her leg and rest on her hip. Her skin burned where he touched, remembering all too well how they use to be. She felt herself grow wet and excited at the memories and what she wanted him to do to her. They'd never gotten all the way, but they'd done some other things that made her body hot just remembering them. Stupid handcuffs were stimulating her body with her thoughts and desires. It was what they had been designed to do, but it wasn't helping her situation.

Draco leaned down until his body brushed against hers, most of his weight propped on his elbows. Hermione instinctively arched her back, pressing her body against him. "Do you want me, Granger?" he asked.

Hermione blew slightly on his lips and said, "Yes." She couldn't lie; the cuffs didn't allow her to lie about anything. They were suppose to bring out the desire and telling the truth was a quicker way to getting some action.

Draco pulled her shirt free of the skirt's waist band and his hands disappeared under the fabric. Hermione mewed happily as his touch ran over her skin. Her legs opened, cradling his lower body. His pant covered legs brushed against her bare skin and her breath grew sporadic.

"Draco," she said breathlessly.

"Granger," he said, trailing his lips over her neck.

"Hermione," she said. "Oh, Draco. There." He nipped her neck again. The sensation of his teeth scrapping against her pulse made it jump and he chuckled in pride.

Draco unbuttoned the top button of her shirt, purposefully brushing his fingertips against her skin. Hermione couldn't get enough. Each touch, each caress, sent her a little bit closer over the edge. The handcuffs were doing their work too well. If he undressed her completely, he'd see the rings and ask questions. The thought hazily passed through her mind a few times. It didn't sink in until Draco bit down on her neck and she felt the chain dig into her skin.

"Draco," she said.

"Hermione," he growled, licking where he'd just bitten.

Her heart jumped a the sound of her first name on his lips, but she had to get him off her. "Draco," she said more urgently. "Please get off."

"And leave you needy?" Draco asked. "A Malfoy does not leave women unsated."

She bit her lip to keep from crying out as his hands traveled to her hips, slipping under her skirt. He rubbed himself against her as his mouth continued its attention to her neck.

"Draco, please," she begged. "You need to get off."

"Why?" he asked, licking the base of her neck.

The door to the Tutoring Room slammed open and the triplets charged in. "Hermione!" Greg called, cheerfully. The brothers stopped, though, when they saw their little sister cuffed to the bed and Slytherin's Sex God between her legs.

"That would be a good reason," Hermione said.

**AN: Awkward, to say the least. Hope you enjoyed the chapter. And the Triplets have a like. The tally for your favorite Granger Brother is still going on. Thanks for reading.**


	5. Chapter 5

"What the bloody hell are you doing to our sister?!" Greg yelled. Gene was rooted in place next to his brother, but the other triplet took a more direct action.

Drawing his wand from his pocket, Fargo pointed it at Draco. The blond boy shot up into the air and crashed into a pair of bookshelves. The wooden shelves shattered under the sudden strike, sending books crashing down on top of the Slytherin's back. Hermione stared at Draco, her body tensing as she watched his unmoving form on the floor. It was too much like the wedding.

Gene raced over to the bed, having finally recovered from his shock, and grabbed the keys from the side table. "What is going on?" he asked, unlocking the handcuffs.

Hermione slowly lowered her hands and rubbed her wrists, never taking her eyes off of Draco's still form. The urge to run to him and make sure he was alright had to be pushed down. Though Hermione wanted nothing more than to go to Draco, she knew that she had to smooth things out with her shocked brothers first. They couldn't know anything about her 'past'.

Gene turned her face toward his, then he started looking over her. "I'm fine," she snapped, gently pushing Gene's hands away. "I'm alright."

"Alright?" Fargo yelled, his face turning red with anger. "The Sex God of Slytherin had you handcuffed to your bed and was in the process of taking your clothes off and all you have to say is that you're alright?"

Hermione flinched at his blunt words, but straightened her shoulders. "There was nothing going on that you need to concern yourselves with," she said.

Gene picked up the handcuffs and blushed as he examined them closer. "Hermione," he said, his voice calmer than his brothers. "Why do you have a pair of Desire Cuffs?"

Fargo's eyes glinted like hard stone as he looked from the cuffs to Draco to Hermione.

"Are you sleeping with him?" he snapped.

Hermione's ears started to turn red and she knew the rest of her face would follow soon. She couldn't tell them that Draco had come here to learn about her scar. That would only cause problems. So, despite wanting to leave Draco out of her dealings, she came up with the only lie that would explain everything.

She gave a sigh and hung her head in a show of shame. "I was planning on it," she said.

"What?" Fargo snapped. "How long has this been going on?"

"It was just going to be once," Hermione said, looking up at them as she continued her lie. "I wanted to celebrate the small freedom I had after the engagement was off with Vladimir. I wanted to do something wild."

"So you asked the Sex God of Slytherin for a one night stand?" Fargo said. "Merlin, Hermione! What were you thinking? Oh, that's right. You weren't."

Gene looked down at Draco and waved his wand at his still body. "I've erased his memory of this incident," Gene said. "He'll wake up outside and remember nothing."

Fargo nodded as his triplet levitated Draco out of the room. He turned back to his sister and said, "Where did the cuffs come from?"

"From Harry," Hermione said. "He asked me to hide them from Ginny for a while."

"From now on," Fargo said, "one of us will be by your side to make sure you don't do anything stupid like this again."

Hermione glared and stood up in anger. "Stupid? Me sleeping with a boy is stupid?" she snapped. "What about you and Susan? And Maria? And Rachel? What about you shagging them in the broom closet after hours? Oh, yes, I know about that. You sleep with tons of girls and you think me sleeping with just one guy is stupid?"

"It is when that guy has been dubbed a sex god by the entire school," Fargo growled, his anger rising with hers. "You'd be just another notch on his bed post and be tossed out the moment he's done with you."

"I'm not looking for a relationship, Fargo. I'm just looking for a shag," she said.

"With Malfoy?"

"I've just come out of a forced engagement where I would be with only one man that I didn't choose. If you were me, wouldn't you like to have the freedom of choosing your bed partner?" Hermione asked.

Fargo opened his mouth to shout, but was cut off by Greg. "Shut it," he snapped, standing between the two of them. "It's late and we're all tired from a long day. We'll drop it for tonight." He said the last to Fargo before turning to Hermione. "But we will talk about this."

"Fine," Fargo said sharply.

"Fine," Hermione said. She turned to her cot and pulled the covers back, tossing the handcuffs into the side table again. "You can show yourselves out. Good night," she said as she pulled the blanket up over her shoulder and turned her back to them.

There was shuffling of feet and then the door closed. The lights in the room went out, leaving Hermione in her bed to stare out the window at the moonlit grounds. Her mind ran over the lie. She'd been unable to keep her cool and the outbursts had no doubt damaged her relationship with her brothers. She could understand they didn't want you being used by Draco, but to call her stupid for wanting sex? Every teenager coming into puberty wanted sex. Fargo and Gene had dated and slept with most of the girls in Gryffindor and a few in Ravenclaw. Greg hadn't really dated much, but he still saw some action. Was it so wrong for her to want some of it, too?

Maybe they would have been happier if it had been someone besides Draco. They'd probably have come in, see the two of them, then make a hasty retreat with a few poor choice of words. But since it was the 'Sex God', they had to get all protective brother on her. They hadn't cared before.

Hermione flinched as she remembered that this was a different world. Before, she'd been properly dating Draco and people hadn't made too much of a fuss after a while. Now, though, if word got out about what had happened, she would be socially exiled and beat down. It again hit home that this was a different life and she wasn't going to get the wedding with her dream wizard. This life would have to be dedicated to stopping the rising of the Death Eaters. Tomorrow morning, she'd spend the whole Saturday researching the Wizard War, Azkaban, Bellatrix, and anything else that had any kind of relevance to Death Eaters gathering.

Pulling the blanket up higher on her shoulder, Hermione closed her eyes and slept. She'd need all of it for tomorrow.

**AN: I know it's been a long time and I'm sorry. Things have been weird and I'm on a trip now. I'll try to do better and I hope you enjoyed the brothers' reactions. Thanks for reading.**


	6. Chapter 6

The Tutoring Room was locked on Saturday, to the confusion of many of Hermione's pupils. They'd been hoping to get in for a quick lesson or guidance on their assignments before Breakfast. With no one to help with their studies, the students left for Great Hall and to get ready for Hogsmead with their friends. They had no idea that Hermione sat at a table covered in strewn pieces of parchment and open books.

She'd been up for a while, having given up on sleep since last night, researching everything she could, but there was only so much information she could get from public resources before it started to repeat itself. Her hair was pulled back into a pony tail, but frizzy strands had escaped to fall into her face at the most inconvenient times. A cup of cold tea sat by her elbow, forgotten about three books, two newspapers, and five parchment pieces back.

All of her information said that Azkaban was escape proof. There was no way anyone could escape. So what had happened in her other life that had resulted in silent escape of the three of the nastiest Death Eaters to ever serve the Dark Lord? How come there wasn't a single word about them? Was someone covering it up? Who was involved and how far did this go? Hermione ran her hands over her head in frustration. For the first time since she started this whole thing, she felt like she had bitten off way too much than she could chew.

Her eyes drifted to the picture of her and Draco that she'd brought back from her time. Draco waved at the camera as he wrapped his other arm around picture Hermione. He pulled her close and planted a passionate kiss on his Hermione's lips, pressing their bodies together. The real Hermione sighed at the picture, her scar aching as it usually did when she remembered him and their love. He would have known what to do after all that time he'd spent working with the Aurors on their case. He might have even joined them when he'd graduated, becoming an Auror himself. Now, though, it was her turn to work on the case and end it all before it began.

••••

Draco sat at the Slytherin table but he hardly heard a word Pansy and Blaise were saying. His attention was on the Gryffindor table where Hermione Granger was making her way to Potter and the Weasleys. Her hair looked like she'd quickly brushed it but hadn't paid too much attention to it beyond a black ribbon, and her eyes looked slightly tired. She was dressed in a pair of muggle pants, black boots, and a tan shirt with the straps of a dark green camisole peaking out from her collar. Her cloak was draped over her arm for future use. Draco watched her sit down next to Ron Weasley and smile at the three.

"Thinking of going after the tutor?" Blaise asked, looking at where his best mate was staring.

"Maybe," Draco said, watching Hermione reach for a cup of coffee.

"I wouldn't, if I were you," Pansy said, looking at Hermione, as well. "She's part of the famous Grangers. You've heard about her brothers, right? All of them excel in their fields. Many pure bloods aren't very happy with their success, as all of them are muggle born."

Draco gave a slight nod. Pansy may not give the appearance of a smart witch, but, in truth, she was very much aware of the political goings on of the wizarding community. It was a cinch that she would most likely secure a position at the Ministry in the Department of Public Affairs. She would probably end up being the best thing that ever happened to it, too.

"What I wouldn't give to be apprenticed to Andrew or Barcus Granger, though," Blaise said. "Those guys are like celebrities in the Field. Hell, if it meant getting that, I'd go after Hermione Granger myself."

Draco felt a slight twinge of jealousy and momentarily paused. Why should he be jealous? And of what? The female Granger may intrigue him with her brisk attitude toward him while she favors others with kindness, but that didn't mean he had any reason to get jealous about Blaise's attentions.

He turned back to the Gryffindor table and saw Hermione look up at four men. Her face brightened and she wrapped the tallest in a hug, crying out, "Andrew!" She laughed as he lifted her up and squeezed before setting her down. When she pulled back, Draco saw tears forming in her eyes.

"What's wrong?" Andrew asked, wiping a tear away with his thumb. "Aren't you glad to see us?"

"I'm thrilled," Hermione said, using her sleeve to dry her eyes. "This has just been a stressful week and seeing you has just made it better."

"Told you we could top last year's present," Greg said, turning to Fargo. Fargo gave a slight nod, remaining silent.

Draco noted that he looked slightly ticked, though he made a good show of putting a mask on for everyone else. The twin looked up, as if feeling Draco's gaze, and Draco blinked in surprise. It was momentary, and he was sure he wasn't sure if he imagined it or not, but had that scowl on Fargo Granger's face been directed at him? What did he do to him? As a point of personal defense, he never angered the triplets. He didn't really fear them; more like he didn't want to risk being at the end of one of their pranks.

Hermione took turns hugging her other brothers and grabbed her cloak from the bench. People were starting to leave for their day in the village. Draco got up and slipped his scarf on as Blaise finished the last of his pumpkin juice. Pansy stayed sitting, watching the oldest Granger, Andrew, leave with his little sister on his arm.

"Pans," Draco said. "Stop ogling his ass and let's go."

Pansy shook herself and got up, flushing slightly at having been caught. They made their way out of the castle and down to the village. The Granger clan walked in front of them a few yards.

"I think I have a plan to get that apprenticeship," Blaise said. "I'll get Hermione to put a good word in for me."

"How do you plan on doing that?" Draco asked.

"I'll seduce her, of course," the tan boy said.

Draco felt that twinge again and pushed it down, confused about its presence. "And when you break it off with her? You think you'll be alive long enough to start the job after her brothers' get through with you?"

"I-"

"Guys," Pansy said, drawing their attention to her. "The Grangers are headed this way."

•••

Even though she'd known her brothers were going to show up to spend her 'birthday' with her, Hermione had been glad to see them. They were just as she remembered them today. As they had started their walk down to Hogsmead, she'd looped her arms with Andrew and Barcus. Feeling them under her hand centered her, making her feel less alone.

She looked over her shoulder to smile at Colin and Darwin as they talked about a new product they were planning on producing soon, but her eyes flashed over them and landed on Draco. He was walking with Blaise and Pansy a little ways behind the Granger group. He and Blaise were discussing something, but because of the distance, not a word met Hermione's ears. They were probably talking about them. She knew that Blaise wanted to get a job in the Field and Pansy wanted to flirt with Andrew. Even if Hermione couldn't have her happy ending, that didn't mean she couldn't help them out.

"Barcus," she said.

"Hm?" he asked, looking down at her. He was dressed in a pair of muggle black jeans, a rocker t-shirt, an old pea coat, and silver rings on his fingers, giving him the appearance of a rock star. His long black hair added to the look, some of the strands falling in his face.

"I know you were planning on taking me to the bookstore and buying me any book I wanted," she said. "But could you do something else for my birthday present?"

"Sure," Barcus said, not questioning how she knew what his birthday treat was going to be. He'd accepted that she was a Seer a long time ago, choosing not to make a big deal out of it. If she saw something important, he knew she would tell him.

"The tan boy behind us talking to the blond and walking with the girl," Hermione said, "he's been studying really hard to get into the Field. I've tutored him enough to know that he's more qualified than some of the interns the Ministry hires. Could you interview him for a position? He's still got a year to graduate, but getting the good word in now will certainly help."

Barcus looked over his shoulder and shrugged. "No problem," he said. "I expect you'll want me to do this right now?"

"Please?" she asked, smiling. "And take Andrew."

"Why?" Andrew asked, looking down at her.

Hermione gave him a sly look. "Because I have a feeling that you'll be interested in the girl. Her name's Pansy Parkinson and she's been staring at you since you came into the Great Hall."

"Playing matchmaker, are you?" Andrew playfully asked, looking over his shoulder for a moment. Hermione saw his eyes stay longer than was necessary and knew that she'd gotten him interested.

"Only because I know you haven't had a date in forever and Pansy's a nice girl once you get to know her," Hermione said. "It's also my birthday, I'm no longer engaged to someone I didn't want to marry, and I'm feeling like a romantic at the moment. Humor me?"

Andrew chuckled and ducked down to kiss her cheek. "It's worth a laugh, right?" he said. He met the gaze of Barcus over Hermione's head, since she was shorter than her oldest brothers, and the two left the group to double back.

Colin and Darwin stepped up, taking their place, and Colin smiled. "Manipulating us, are you, dear sister?" he asked.

"I would never," Hermione said, smiling and linking her arms with theirs. "Now that I have you two all to myself and the triplets have rushed ahead for some surprise or other, I have a proposition."

"Oh?" Darwin asked.

"It's about your Desire Cuffs," Hermione said.

"Been getting lucky with some lucky wizard?" Colin asked.

"Let's just say that I've recently been trapped in a pair," she said, blushing slightly. "Could you make a special pair for me, though?"

"What did you have in mind?" Darwin asked. From his tone, she knew that she'd peaked his interest. He liked to improve on his products, making them better and more interesting.

"I want a pair that, when I say a word, they will open for me," she said.

"Like a safe word?" Darwin said. "We have that spelled into our more BDMS products. It opens only to the wearer's voice match."

"Exactly," Hermione said. "But I want a pair of regular cuffs, ones that can't be broken or unlocked by any spell, and open only to my voice when I say the 'safe word', as you put it."

The brothers looked at her, then at each other before looking back down at her.

"What kind of kink are you getting yourself into?" Colin asked.

Hermione blushed, then laughed. "It's not for any kink. I just realized what you were thinking," she said. "No. It's for when I start my internship at the Auror department. I don't know what I'll be doing, but I'd like them just to be safe."

"I think we can swing that," Darwin said, the cogs in his head already moving to formulate what needed to be done to create what Hermione asked.

"Your wizard boy toy must be excited about them," Colin said.

Hermione blushed. "I don't have anyone," she said.

"Then how did you find yourself trapped in a pair of our Desire Cuffs?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Long story that I don't want to get into right now," she said. "Let's go to the Three Broomsticks and wait for Andrew and Barcus. I could go for some butter beer."

••••

Draco watched the two oldest Granger siblings head up the trail towards them. He was confused and his mind started whirling with questions. What could the two of them want with them? Had they heard them talking about their sister and come to teach them a lesson?

They stopped in front of the three Slytherins and the one that looked like a muggle rock celebrity said, "You're Blaise, right?"

"Yes, sir," Blaise said. He sounded calm, but Draco knew that he was just as nervous and shocked as him.

"You want to be in the Field?" Barcus said. Blaise nodded. "Alright. Walk with me. Convince me why I should let you in." Blaise's eyes widened and he quickly started in on why he wanted to be an Agent.

The other Granger, Andrew, smiled at Pansy and said, "Allow me to escort you into Hogsmeade, Ms. Parkinson?" He extended his arm to her and she took it, smiling like a child at Christmas.

Draco was left stunned at the sudden happenings, but quickly started walking again. From where he walked, he saw Hermione Granger talking to her brothers Colin and Darwin. She laughed at something and shook her head. Had she told her brothers to come over here? What was she playing at? Something about Hermione Granger didn't sit correctly with Draco and he was determined to figure out what secret she was hiding. If nothing else, she could explain how he'd found himself outside the door to her Tutor Room with no memory of getting there.

**AN: I hope you enjoyed yourselves, readers. I'm getting back into the swing of things, I am happy to say. Thanks for being patient with me.**


	7. Chapter 7

Draco was certain he was in a dream. A weird dream where Blaise was being interviewed for a spot in the Field by Barcus Granger and Pansy was flirting with Andrew Granger, who was practically infatuated with her. Draco felt slightly left out, but he took a swig of his hot butter beer and looked around the crowded Three Broomsticks. The Slytherins and the two Grangers had managed to grab a table, but not so many were that lucky. Many students were standing up and pushed against the walls of the establishment, holding their drinks close so as no to have it knocked out of their hands by accident.

Draco momentarily wondered where Hermione and her two brothers had gone. He'd seen them walking ahead on the trail, but had lost track of them in the crowd when they'd entered the village. He was still puzzled as to what Hermione was playing at in sending her brothers over to them. Was she trying to distract them from something? She'd been cold and harsh to Draco since he'd introduced himself in the library. It was as if she were trying to put distance between them or push him away. Was she worried that he would try to seduce her for some reason? He'd admit that she was attractive, but he hadn't thought of trying to sleep with her before the library incident.

The door opened, letting in a burst of cold air and the entrepreneur Grangers with their sister. They quickly closed the door and looked around for a table. Colin spotted Draco's table and grabbed Hermione's elbow, leading her over to the table. Draco saw her eyes widen slightly as she realized where they were going, but she quickly schooled her features into a pleasant smile. What was the mystery of Hermione Granger?

••••

Hermione probably should have thought through her plan of having her brothers talk to Blaise and Pansy. Now she had to sit with them, which wasn't a problem. No, the problem was that Draco was sitting at the same table. Though he may have no memory about last night, she was fully aware of what had happened and what could have happened if her brothers hadn't' shown up when they did. She tried to calm herself down with the idea that she only had to be polite for a while and then she could go back to avoiding him the moment her brothers were gone. But playing nice was the only way to avoid cuing her brothers to any change in her just yet.

"Hey," she said cheerily as she slid onto a stool next to Barcus. "What's up?"

Barcus draped an arm around her shoulders. "Just chatting," he said. "Well, I am. Andrew and Parkinson are silently undressing each other with their eyes. I'd put money on it that they'll be a couple pretty soon."

Hermione chuckled and said, "10 galleons say they're married at the end of spring holiday."

Barcus raised an eyebrow and a smirk appeared on his lips. "That sure, huh?" he said. "In that case, I'm out."

"Just because of that?" Blaise asked, looking between the two.

Barcus shrugged. "When Hermione has a guess as sure as that, I've found it best not to argue," he said.

"So you'll cough up the winnings?" Hermione asked.

"I'll do one better and give you your birthday present," he said. Barcus turned to Blaise and extended his hand. "Congratulations. You will be interned to me during your school time and become Apprentice Blaise Zabini upon graduation if you prove you deserve the spot."

Blaise was shocked as he shook Barcus' hand, but then he looked at Hermione. "Did you tell him to give me the job?"

"I simply said that he should interview you," she said, smiling. "I had very little influence in him choosing you."

Blaise's face split into a giant grin and he got up to wrap Hermione in a giant hug. She was surprised for a moment, but returned the hug with a smile.

"Woah, man,"Barcus said with a laugh. "Don't jump my sister. The last thing I need is having you two become serious and have her riding my back to make sure you don't die."

Blaise pulled back and sheepishly sat back down. "Sorry," he said.

"No problem," Hermione said, laughing. "Now I'll know someone my own age at the Ministry."

"That's right," Barcus said. "You accepted that intern with the Auror Department."

Hermione nodded, smiling at the waitress as she put a fresh round of butter beers on the table. "Now that I'm no longer engaged to Vladimir, I've been looking at my future. I think being an Auror is where I need to be," she said.

"Good," Barcus said. "They could use a Granger in there to keep everyone in line."

She laughed. "I'm only going to be an intern, Barcus. I'll probably be shuffling parchment and running for tea." And hopefully having time to look through documents for answers.

The topic was dropped as the door burst open and the triplets came in, singing their off key version of Happy Birthday. The large cake between them looked just as it had the first time and the brothers set it down on the table in front of her. Ron, Harry, and Ginny were singing, but at least they had the decency to sing it the right way.

When the song ended, everyone in the Three Broomsticks applauded. Hermione stood up and blew out the candles in one breath. She waved her wand and slices of cake floated around to everyone in the room. She resisted looking at Draco, remembering that he had saluted her with his drink the last time.

Harry and Ron put a pile of presents on the table and Hermione blushed slightly at the attention. "Where did you get all this?" she asked. On closer inspection of the pile, she could make out presents from Mrs. Weasley, Mr. Weasley, a few wizards from the Ministry that Hermione knew very well, a few witches and wizards of fashion, the Headmaster of Durmstrang, and one from Vladimir and Alyona. She had a feeling the ones from the Headmaster and the other two were more like thank you gifts than birthday gifts.

"They were piled up at the owl office and we volunteered to bring them to you," Greg said. "Seems everyone wants to celebrate your birthday early."

Hermione chuckled and said, "I'll open them back at the castle. It seems rude to open them now and take up all this space."

"Let me," Barcus said, waving his hand over the pile. His ring glowed and the packages vanished. Hermione knew they would be waiting for her back in the Common room of Gryffindor tower.

"By the looks of the pile, I'm going to spend a good day writing thank you notes," Hermione joked.

"Good luck with that," Greg said. "You hardly have enough time to sleep with the tutoring you do."

Hermione took a sip of her butter beer and said, "You know, you're right, Greg."

"Yes!" Greg said, jumping slightly as he punched a fist in the air. "I'm right. Ha, Gene! See? I can be right on something." He paused and looked at Hermione. "What am I right about?"

"That I'm going to need more time. Now more than ever, actually, since I'll be starting my internship next week," Hermione said. "I'm going to stop tutoring."

"What?" Ron asked, blinking. "But what if we need help with homework? Isn't half the school coming to you for help?"

"It can't be helped," Hermione said. "I won't have time. I'll help set up study groups, though, if people want, but tutoring stops now."

"Aww," Greg said, hugging her from behind. "Our little sister's growing a back bone. How cute."

Hermione jabbed him in the ribs with her elbow and heard him let out a surprised breath. "Isn't it?" she said. Her brothers laughed as Greg coughed a bit. She wasn't fooled, though. The triplets were still upset with the incident between her and Draco, though the Slytherin remembered nothing of the event. But her brothers weren't going to forget. They would probably keep it from the other brothers, but Hermione knew that they were going to have that talk soon.

"She'll need that back bone if she wants to survive Mad Eye Moody," Barcus said. "He'll be hard on you."

"Because I'm a girl?" Hermione asked, raising an eyebrow. Moody wasn't sexist. He believed that surviving relied with the person, not their gender.

"Because he knows you," Andrew said, pulling himself away from Pansy's eyes for a moment to answer. "You'll have to prove to him and everyone else that you didn't get in just because of who you know. The Aurors don't need social climbers. They need people who can stand their ground when faced with danger."

Hermione smiled at his words. "I'm looking forward to the challenge," she said, sipping her drink.

She saw Harry smiling from the corner of her eye and turned her head toward him. He had an arm wrapped around Ginny's waist and they were both smiling at her. "Definitely changed," Harry said.

"Oh, yeah," Ginny said, nodding. "I do believe I see a personality that isn't faked."

Hermione paused and blinked. "You knew?" she asked.

"Of course I knew," Ginny said. "You're my friend. I'm not oblivious." She looked over Hermione and gave a thoughtful look. "The only question, now, is this: Does the New Hermione have the urge to go shopping for some new robes?"

"You bet she does," Greg said. "I saw this rainbow dress that has feathers and glitter everywhere. It's just what she needs."

Hermione glared at her brother. "You even think of getting me that, I'll spell it on you so you can't get out and put you on top of the Gryffindor table during the Christmas Feast," she said.

She meant to be threatening, but Greg only laughed. "Only if I get to wear some killer heals and exotic music. If I'm going to perform, I'm doing it with class."

Hermione straightened her shoulders and waved a dramatic hand. "I present my brother, the drag queen," she said.

The group laughed as Greg put a hand behind his head, cocked his hip, and puckered his lips with a wink. "I'd be fabulous, darling," he said, fluttering his eyelashes.

Hermione wiped a tear from her eyes, she was laughing so hard, and reached out to steady herself with the table. Her fingers landed on something warm and she looked down to realize she'd placed her hand over Draco's. She felt her heart stop and couldn't help but look up. Their gazes met and she was lost in the grey color. The memories of them together rushed her and her scar started to hurt. She bit her cheek to keep from crying out at the pain, and quickly withdrew her hand.

Hermione looked away and turned to Ginny, putting a smile on. "You know, I did see the cutest pair of shoes. Want to go see if they're still there?"

"You bet," Ginny said, her eyes widening.

Hermione grabbed her cloak and scarf, following Ginny to the door. She looked over her shoulder and saw Draco sitting where she'd left him, looking confused. Her hand raised to press her scar, which worked to dull the pain, and she turned away.

It was cold outside and Hermione hurried to wrap herself up before she froze. Greg appeared beside her and extended his arms to her and Ginny. "My ladies," he said with a playful bow.

The girls laughed and took each of his offered arms. They wandered the shops, trying on outfits and jokingly putting together a drag outfit for Greg. Hermione would admit that she had a lot of fun. Why hadn't she done this before? Why hadn't she known Ginny was this cool? There seemed a lot that she'd missed in her old life.

Unfortunately, the sun was starting to lower in the sky and the students were warned to return to the castle. Hermione gathered with her brothers in front of the path leading up to Hogwarts and smiled.

"I'm glad you came," she said. "I loved seeing you all."

"We like seeing you, too," Darwin said.

"Especially when you're smiling and enjoying yourself," Colin added.

"Try to stay that way, huh?" Barcus said, ruffling her hair.

Hermione smiled and nodded. "I will," she said. She opened her arms and they all stepped in for a Granger clan embrace. She felt the love of her brothers and knew that she would never be without support.

They all pulled back and they apparated away, leaving on Hermione and the triplets. They turned and started up the path to the castle. Along the way, and Hermione wasn't sure who started it, they ended up having a snowball fight. Hermione ended up being drench, having not participated in a snowball fight for ages. Her brothers only ended up with wet cloaks and gloves, their under clothes not even damp.

When they reached the Gryffindor tower, she raced upstairs to her room and stripped out of the wet clothes, throwing them onto the bathroom floor for the house elves. Casting a quick drying and warming spell, she changed into a pair of jeans, tennies, a plain white t-shirt, and slipped her arms into a light grey sweater. She sat down to brush her hair and noticed her Divination cards were sitting in the middle of the vanity set.

Hermione paused and looked at them. She distinctly remembered putting them in the side table, so they shouldn't be here. They must want to tell her something. For a moment, she thought about ignoring them, sure they were going to show her something horrible, but reached for them, remembering how nasty they could get when ignored.

She flipped over the top card and paled, dropping the card face side up on the table. The Queen of Hearts. It was the love card. Was this about Draco? Her hand shook as she reached out and touched the card. She momentarily saw her eyes flash white in the mirror before her vision started.

The room was one she didn't recognize, though there were green curtains on a four poster canopy in the corner. She studied it for a moment before realizing that there were people in the bed. The vision expanded so she had a better look at the bed. Not only were there people in the bed, but they were wrapped around each other. Hermione blushed as she realized that they were having sex. She wanted to look away, but the vision wouldn't let her. She could make out the broad shoulders of a man, but couldn't see who the other person was. She would give it to the man, though; he was definitely had stamina. After a bit of awkwardly standing there and watching this, Hermione heard a name moan from the man. She blinked as she watched the man groan and tilt his head back, giving her a clear look of the other person in the bed. She'd heard correctly, then.

Someone grabbed her shoulder and she snapped out of her vision. Hermione blinked a few times and rubbed her eyes to clear away the vision fog. She looked up at the person who'd grabbed her shoulder. "You're gay?" she asked.

Greg's hand left her shoulder and he paled. "What?"

Hermione turned to him in the chair. "Are you gay, Greg?" she asked.

"Why would you ask that?" he asked, turning red. He paused and looked at the card on the vanity table. "What was your vision?"

Now it was Hermione's turn to blush. "You were having sex with another guy," she said, trying to keep from blushing anymore.

Greg was silent as he processed what he'd been told. "Yes," he finally said. "I'm gay."

Hermione stared at him. Had she missed so much in her last life? How could she have been so wrapped up in her own problems to not notice things around her? Some Seer she was. She reached out and took his hand. He looked down at her and she saw the uncertainty in his eyes. "Does anyone else know?" she asked.

Greg shook his head. He sank down onto the closest trunk and shook his head. "You're not the only one that's good at pretending," he said. His hand squeezed hers and he sighed as if ready to get some weight off his chest.

Hermione squeezed his hand back and gave him a small smile when he looked up at her. "I don't judge you," she said. "Know that. I'm always here for you, Greg."

He gave a weak chuckled and nodded. "For some reason, I thought you were going to be upset," he said. "I was starting to think you'd disown me or something."

"Never," she said quickly. She remembered when she'd disowned her father and thought the rest of the family would ignore her. "You're stuck with me."

Greg stared at her and tears started to fall down his cheeks and Hermione slid into the spot next to him. She wrapped her arms around him and he pulled her to his side with one arm. "I didn't know being my brother would make you cry," she said.

He laughed and wiped a tear away from his eye. "I'm crying because I was more scared of your reaction than any one else's. Knowing you don't want to pretend I don't exist, is such a load off my mind," he said. "I love you, you know."

Hermione smiled and nodded. "I love you, too, Greg," she said. They sat for a bit before Hermione said, "Does this mean you're going to do the drag queen thing? Because I think you would be totally fabulous."

Greg burst into laughter and she joined him. "I think I might give Dumbledore a run for his money," he said, standing up.

"Wait. Dumbledore's gay?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah," he said, looking down at her. "Seriously, you need to tune into the gossip a bit more. You're missing a lot of stuff."

"So I've been learning," she said, getting to her feet. "How about dinner? You can get me caught up with the gossip. How about we start with who the guy was in my vision?"

"Did you see who it was?" Greg asked.

"I didn't see any features beyond his back," Hermione said. "But his bed had green curtains."

Greg nodded slightly and sighed. "I'll have to talk to him before I can introduce you. He's not out, you understand."

"Of course," Hermione said. "But I do want to meet him if he's important to you."

He smiled at her and wrapped an arm around her waist as they left the tower. "I think he'd like to meet you, too," Greg said.

Hermione smiled. "At least now I know why I never see you dating. I always thought it was because you were studying in the library," she said.

"I was in the library," Gene said. "Studying...isn't exactly what I was doing."

Hermione looked at his knowing smile and said, "Really? In the library? What are you? A voyeur?"

"Says the girl who was handcuffed-"

Hermione covered his mouth with her hand before he could finish that sentence. "That is completely different," she hissed, glad they were alone in the hallway.

Greg pulled her hand away and smirked down at her. "How?" he asked. "Though I can understand you wanting him. He's attractive and skilled, so I hear. You could have done worse."

"That incident was a mistake that will never happen again," she said. "Can we forget it?"

"Fargo's not going to let you," Greg pointed out, following her down the hall.

Hermione groaned. "I don't see why he's so upset. He sleeps with every girl he likes," she said.

"But it's different for girls. Fargo's going to always see you as his little innocent baby sister," Greg said.

Hermione snorted as she entered the Great Hall. She walked over to where the other part of the triplets were showing Ron and Harry a new prank while Ginny chatted with Luna Lovegood and Lavender Brown. Maybe Hermione could get some of the gossip from the girls. She put a little pressure on Greg's hand before sitting down with the girls.

"Ah, Hermione," Ginny said. "Maybe you can tell us if it's true."

"If what's true?"

"If your brother Andrew was flirting with Pansy Parkinson at the Three Broomsticks, then gave her his address and told her to write to him," Lavender said.

"I would suppose it's true," Hermione said, reaching for some roast beef. "I told him to talk to her."

"Why would you do that?" Lavender asked. "Why not send him my way?"

"Because you're chasing Ron?" Hermione said. "Besides, they make a cute couple."

"The nargles like them," Luna said in her dreamy voice.

Hermione smiled and served herself some potatoes. "Maybe you guys can help me," she said. "It's been pointed out to me that I am truly out of the loop on all the gossip."

Lavender gasped, sounding genuinely shocked, and jumped right into every little piece of juicy tidbit that had crossed her path. It took all of dinner, desert, and half way to Gryffindor Tower before she started to slow down. Hermione knew most of what she'd been told, but a lot of it was new to her and she had to process it. Mostly, she had to figure out what was real and what was just exaggeration on Lavender's part.

"Oh, there's Pavarti," Lavender said. "Do you mind if I-"

"No," Hermione said with a smile. "Go ahead. Just a lot that I need to think through."

Lavender laughed and ran off to join her friend.

"I thought she'd never leave," a voice said behind her.  
Hermione jumped and whirled around. She glared at the owner of the voice as he appeared out of the shadows. "This is starting to get old, Malfoy," she said.

"Why are you avoiding me?" he asked, stepping closer.

"Why are you stalking me," she shot back.

"Because I'm curious and seriously confused."

"Situation normal, then," she said, turning away.

Draco reached out and grabbed her wrist, pulling her back. She hit his chest and his arms held her captive. "You've been avoiding me ever since I introduced myself to you in the library. Like I have a disease or something."

"Let me go," Hermione said.

"Not until you tell me what is going on," he said. "I can tell that you're attracted to me, but you treat me as if I don't exist."

"So what if I do?" she snapped. "There's nothing between us, so why should it matter?"

Draco turned her around and looked down at her with hard eyes. Hermione watched the fog swirl in his eyes. He swooped down and and captured her lips in a searing kiss. Hermione's eyes closed and she pressed into the kiss, feeding on his passion and the spark that ignited in her chest. How she'd missed the feel of his lips on hers and taste of him on her tongue. Slowly, he pulled back, his choppy breath matching hers. Her eyes opened and she stared the fog turn to mist in his gaze.

"If there's nothing between us, why did that feel right?" Draco said, his voice like a caress over her skin.

Hermione stared at him and wanted nothing more than to sink into his arms. She felt her body move closer, but the image of his corpse on their wedding day flashed in her mind's eye and she took a step back.

"Stop," she said. "I can't do this. Please stop following me or I'll have my brothers kick your ass." She gave him the best glare she could muster at the moment, though she was pretty sure it was crap, and turned to run back to the tower.

She didn't bother to stop in the Common Room when Lavender and Ginny called to her. She just ran up to her room and collapsed on the bed, sobbing into the pillow. Why did it hurt so much? Damn Draco for being so damn observant and curious. Why couldn't he have just written her off as a prude and left her alone?

"Hermione?" Greg asked, poking his head into the room. "The girls sent me up to see what's wrong."

Hermione looked up and Greg moved to sit on the bed, collecting her in his arms. She wrapped her arms around him and cried, "Greg, I'm such an idiot."

"It's alright," he said, stroking her hair in a soothing rhythm.

"No, it's not," she said, pulling back. "I'm in love with Draco Malfoy."

"What's wrong with being in love?" Greg asked.

"It's going to get him killed," Hermione said, the tears starting to flow again. She buried her face into her brother's shoulder and cried until the exhaustion knocked her out.

**AN: So, to make up for the time it took me to write this chapter and all the spelling mistakes I've made in the previous chapters, I made this longer than usual. I hope everyone enjoyed it. I'm trying to expand on the brothers a bit more. I made Greg gay because, 1) it's Gay Pride Month and 2) he told me to make him gay. Sometimes the characters take charge of my story and I have no control on it. He won't even tell me who his boyfriend is! How mean. Hope you enjoyed the story. **

**P.S. If you're not a fan of gays, then I'm sorry you feel that way, but I will not change my characters. I'm more afraid of what they'll do than what your homophobic tendencies. I hope you will continue to read my story, but I understand if you do not wish to. Sorry to see you go.**


	8. Chapter 8

Draco's thoughts were wrapped around Hermione Granger. She constantly pushed him away, but had kissed him as if it were second nature. Surely she'd felt the spark when they'd kissed? Draco Malfoy was not one to give into emotional nonsense, as his father put it, but he'd have to admit that he'd felt nothing like it before. His gut had burned and his chest had tightened as if someone had squeezed him with a giant hand. He'd originally planned on kissing her to daze her and get some answers, as the trick had worked on other girls. He should have known it wouldn't work with Hermione, but he hadn't expected to see the look in her eyes when he'd pulled back from the kiss. There had definitely been desire in her eyes, but when she'd pulled away and threatened him to leave her alone, he'd seen pain and sadness. Like she knew something he didn't.

"Earth to Draco," Blaise said, waving a hand in front of his friend's face.

Draco blinked and looked up at the Italian. "What?" he asked.

"Merlin, you've got it bad," Blaise said.

"Got what bad?" Draco asked, raising an eyebrow in confusion.

"Who's the bird?"

Draco shook his head. "Honestly, Blaise, I'm not following anything you're saying."

"I've been sitting here telling you about Barcus agreeing to be my sponsor for the Field, and you're lost in your thoughts with a stupid look on your face," Blaise said. "Who's the girl that's got you distracted?"

"Why do you think it's a girl?" Draco asked.

"You're Draco Malfoy. What else would you be thinking so hard about? So, again, who is she?"

Draco leaned back against the sofa cushions and let out a breath. "Hermione Granger," he said.

Blaise stared at him for a moment before throwing back his head and laughing. The entire Common Room turned to look at the boy, wondering what had caused him to double over in laughter. Draco lifted a foot and pushed Blaise off the couch, hoping it would shut him up. No such luck. He curled in on himself, holding his sides as he slowly tried to calm his laughter. After a few minutes, Blaise finally manged to stop and climbed back onto the couch. He looked up at Draco and then bit his fist to keep from starting up again.

"I'm glad to see you find this funny," Draco said, glad that everyone went back to ignoring the two Slytherins.

"Oh, it's hilarious," Blaise said. "Planning on taking my original plan and seduce her for something? Because if you are, then I must let you know that, as a condition of Barcus being my sponsor, he told me that I was to watch over his little sister. I'm to be her unseen bodyguard."

"And what's so funny?" Draco asked.

"Because his exact words were 'if anyone takes an interest in her that isn't good enough, beat the crap out of them'. So, you see, I literally have orders to beat you up." Blaise laughed again, though it was toned down and no one looked at them again.

"So you think I'm not good enough?" Draco said.

Blaise smiled and leaned back against the sofa, throwing an arm across the back. "You have to admit, Draco, that you aren't exactly the type of guy girls want to introduce to their families as their significant other. Your name only goes so far before people don't like you."

Draco sighed, knowing that Blaise was right. The Malfoy name had history, prestige, and power behind it, but they were also prejudice jerks. Draco was well aware of this fact. Especially when he went home on breaks and had to listen to his father grumble about 'the filthy mudbloods'. This was promptly followed by lectures of what Lucius Malfoy expected from his son as the heir to the Malfoy name. Draco was fairly certain he could repeat everything back word for word. Something his father would not approve of.

"Hey, guys," Pansy said, perching herself on the sofa across from them. "What's up?"

"Draco has a dilemma," Blaise said, amused by the situation.

"What kind of dilemma?" Pansy asked.

"He's mooning over Hermione Granger," Blaise said, chuckling like it was the punchline to a joke.

Pansy's mouth fell open and she swung her gaze to her blond friend. "No way," she said. She covered her mouth and started to giggle.

"You, too?" Draco said, groaning. "What is with you two and finding this funny?"

"Hello," Pansy said, waving a hand. "You're Draco Malfoy, the Sex God of Slytherin. You've been through most of the girls in this school and thought nothing of it. Now you're interested in Hermione Granger, a muggle born from a family that many pure bloods envy, despise, love, or a combination of all three. The same family your father can't stand because of their social standing. You are so screwed. And not in the good way."

Draco frowned at her bluntness. "I think I liked you better when you were mooning over me and thought I could do no wrong," he said.

She shrugged, smirking. "I've got Andrew, now," she said.

"You met him only today," Draco said. "And won't your parents be angry that you're seeing a Granger?"

"They'd be idiots to be angry," Pansy said. "Despite many purebloods being unhappy with the Grangers having a lot of influence in law enforcement and the business sector, they respect the family for what they've done for the wizarding world. The Granger family has just as much power and influence as the Malfoy and Zabini families. My parents are like any other old fashioned pureblood family; they'll want me to make a match that gives them a boost in their social standing. So, no. I don't think they'll be angry after a while."

Draco and Blaise stared at her for a while, taking in all she said. "You're not as stupid as people think," Blaise said.

"Don't let it get around," she said. "That's the only advantage I have sometimes."

"Too bad my parents would never see it that way," Draco said.

"I know I made the joke of going after the tutor, but I didn't know you were serious," Blaise said, turning to his friend with a less humorous expression.

Draco shook his head and said, "That's the thing. I don't know what's going on with that girl. I do nothing to her and the moment I introduced myself to her, she bites my head off. Then she continues to be cold to me, but then I kiss her and she kisses me back like it's the last thing she'll ever do before pulling back and threatening that she'll have her brothers come after me if I don't leave her alone. Every time I think she's going to give in, she does for a bit, then snaps at me."

Blaise bit his lip as he smiled. "Have you thought that maybe she's bipolar?" he asked, laughing slightly.

"Funny," Draco said, rolling his eyes. "If Hermione's bet with her brother goes through, then Pansy's going to get stuck with her for a sister-in-law."

"What bet?" Pansy asked, furrowing her brow.

"If you hadn't been wrapped up with your new beau," Blaise said, "you would have heard Barcus betting that you and Andrew would be a couple soon. Hermione put the bet that you and Andrew would be married by the end of spring break. Barcus pulled out of the bet when she said that, though."

"Why?" Pansy asked.

Blaise shrugged. "Said that if his sister had a guess as sure as that, then he wasn't going to bet against it," he said. "All the Granger brothers really listen to their sister. They're also very protective of her."

"Sounds annoying," Draco said, glad that he didn't have any siblings for that reason.

"But understandable," Pansy said. "One girl with seven brothers? She's bound to be protected and a tomboy. Especially with their father."

"Hm?" Draco looked up at her.

She was quiet for a moment before getting up to sit down between the two boys. She lowered her voice so only they could hear her. "You've heard the rumors that Mr. Granger had arranged to have his only daughter married to a Durmstrang student of a prominent family and was furious when Durmstrang's Headmaster's daughter bought Hermione out of her contract, right?" The boys nodded. It was still big news around school. "He was only appeased by Hermione taking the Auror internship at the Ministry. But the word is that he has another deal in the works to marry her off later down the road once she's built a name up for herself."

"Did he learn nothing?" Blaise said, rolling his eyes.

"Mr. Granger's been feeding on his children's success and popularity ever since Andrew took top spot in school. He's a greedy man and I guess he's trying to make his family royalty or something. He's not going to let just anyone marry his only daughter. As tradition states, the head of the family can choose the daughter's husband if they deem it necessary."

"Wow," Draco said. "Sounds like he could match my father. But why would that make her brothers so protective?"

Pansy raised an eyebrow, looking as if he'd missed everything. "Her father's abusive," she said.

"What?" Draco hissed, forcing himself to keep his voice low. Hermione's face flashed before him, her smile brightening her face like it did when she talked with her brothers. It was hard to believe she was abused. She seemed so strong. Greg's comment of her growing a back bone and the female Weasley saying something about a true personality sprang to mind. He didn't really know her before the library incident, he realized. It is very possible that she may have been abused and he wouldn't have known. Things like that weren't readily passed around in the gossip train unless there were clear signs.

"Not physically," Pansy said as if reading Draco's mind. "He's mentally abusive. But the Granger brothers have tried their best to build Hermione up. It's worked, too, it seems, if the triplets are to believed. They said that Hermione's sass is very new."

"When did you start talking to the triplets beyond threatening them about pulling pranks on you?" Blaise asked.

"They cornered me after dinner to question me on my new relationship with Andrew," she said.

"So there is a relationship?" Blaise asked, raising his eyebrow quizzically.

Pansy blushed slightly, but shrugged as if it were nothing. "I would hope so," she said. "He kissed me."

"Big whoop," Draco said. "I kiss girls all the time and it doesn't mean anything."

"Unless it's Hermione," Pansy shot back, sliding a glance his way.

Draco gave her a hard glare. "That's different," he said.

"How?" Pansy asked.

"You're in a relationship with Andrew, you're suppose to kiss him," Draco said.

Blaise snorted. "That was weak, man," he said.

"Shut it, Zabini," Draco snapped.

Blaise raised his hands in a defense. "I'm not the one who's chasing Hermione," he said. "That girl's gotten under your skin, mate, and I don't think you want her out."

"It's not like I'm going to get anywhere with her, anyway," Draco huffed. "Not if she's so against me."

"Oh, Merlin," Blaise said. "Are you moping?"

Draco's spine straightened. "No," he said defensively.

"Oh, man. You are," Blaise said, laughing again.

"Shut it," Draco said.

The tan boy continued to laugh, though he quickly turned it into a chuckle. "You've got it bad," he said, shaking his head. "This is so funny."

"Whatever, hyena," Draco mumbled.

"Maybe it's good she doesn't want you," Pansy said. "I don't think she could deal with your Malfoyness."

"My what?" Draco asked.

"Malfoyness," she said. "You know, the thing that makes you...this." She waved her hand toward him in a vague manner.

"You just gestured to all of me," he said.

"Exactly," Pansy said, smiling brightly.

He groaned. "Is this 'Pick on Draco' night or something?" he asked.

"Pretty much," Blaise said, finally done with his laughing.

Draco sighed and decided to change the subject. "How are you going to do your internship if you're still in school?"

"Next week, all the students that have internships will be excused from class and Flooed to the Ministry for orientation. We'll be introduced to our sponsor, who will walk us through our job description and get us started. After that, all interns will be required to put in at least two days each week. We'll be presented with bags of Floo powder specifically used to transport us from Hogwarts to the Ministry and back," Blaise said.

"Who else has an internship?" Draco asked, picking up on the the plural sentence structure.

"Hermione, me, a few from Ravenclaw, two Hufflepuffs, and Pansy," Blaise said.

Draco looked at Pansy. "You?" he asked. "When did this happen?"

"Two months ago," she said. "I applied with the Department of Public Affairs."

"So you'll gossip," Draco said.

"You make it sound like a bad thing," she said, smirking at him.

"And your school work?" Draco asked, rolling his eyes.

"The teachers will work with us so we don't miss anything," Blaise said. "Of course, that means long hours. With Hermione. In the dim library with lots of shadows. Shadows that can be used for-"

"I get it," Draco growled.

Blaise smiled, taking his fun from his friend's jealousy.

"Are you really going to try and go after her?" Draco asked. "What would Barcus think?"

The other boy shrugged. "I've already told him that I had no interest in his sister that way. She's cute and everything, but not really my type. It was one of the reasons Barcus told me to watch out for her. No conflict of interest."

"Then why-"

"To goad you, Draco," Blaise said, rolling his eyes as if the conclusion was obvious. "You're usually so collected and suave, but your confusion is so refreshing that I'm taking advantage of it."

"Going to add this to your diary?" Draco quipped. "Probably add a couple hearts for good measure?"

"With pink glitter and everything," Blaise shot back with a giant smirk.

Draco shook his head. "I wonder about you sometimes, Blaise."

"Don't," the boy said. "You'll hurt your brain."

Sighing, Draco stood up and stretched. "I'm turning in," he said. "Night."

"Night," Pansy said.

"Dream of Hermione," Blaise said with a wide smile. "Preferably in multiple positions and-"

"Sod off, Zabini," Draco said, though it wasn't as sharp as before.

He turned and headed up to his room, which he was fortunate enough to share with no one. The perks of being upperclassmen. He threw his robe onto his chair and kicked his shoes off before sitting down on his bed. He knew that Blaise was baiting him with the comments of Hermione, and it just irked him that the blasted boy was succeeding. Then again, if Blaise had experienced a kiss like that, he would be irked, too. It wasn't something you just wrote off and ignored. For some reason, it felt like this wasn't the first time he'd kissed Hermione.

Draco rubbed his hands over his face and stripped out of his uniform, leaving it in a pile for the house elves to deal with later. He just wanted to sleep and get his mind off of the brunette. Unfortunately for him, his dreams were filled with her. A few of them were the two of them playing poker with corn kernels or with poker chips over tea and laughing. One dream was of Hermione teaching someone so subject or other while Draco sat in the corner reading a book, patiently waiting for her to finish. The next was of the two of them intertwined under a tree on the Malfoy property. Hermione was saying something about getting caught, but reacted sweetly to Draco's hands on her. Draco woke up from that one heavily aroused and in search of a cold shower.

**AN: I hope you all enjoyed. I liked having Blaise be fun in this chapter and Pansy is proving to be smarter than I originally thought. Thanks for reading.**


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